Silent No More

It is with a heavy heart and a heavier conscience that I begin yet another blog post in the wake of a mass shooting, this one taking place in my home state of Texas, in a church, of all places. When will enough be enough?

This isn’t about people with mental health issues. It’s about terrorism. It doesn’t matter what it’s in the name of or whether ISIS claims responsibility for it. They obviously have other means of doing it. This senseless act of violence was committed by another white man with a checkered past. My conscience is heavy because I have refused to speak what I believe on this matter, but the problem is ultimately lying with bad people getting access to assault weapons, dare I say weapons of mass destruction, because they wind up devastating so many lives.

Red flags should have come up and would have if there had been a background check when this murderer bought the weapon he used to cut down those people worshiping on Sunday. The time for thoughts and prayers is over. They are useless to those people that, time and time again, pay the price for this misconceived right to bear arms (an amendment written in the 1700s when the deadliest gun was a musket, a weapon that could fire once every thirty seconds).

Where are all the good people with guns that pledged to stop things like this from happening? This is Texas, after all, a state notorious for its high concentration of gun owners (especially those who own more than one). Were you there for the people of Sutherland Springs when Death descended upon it in the form of another person just exercising his Second Amendment rights?

Let me say that I am not touting for a complete abolishing of the Second Amendment. Owning a gun for the protection of yourself and your family is perfectly reasonable. Owning an assault rifle for no other reason than that you’re allowed is not.

Your thoughts and prayers are not wanted. This happened in a church. What good did your thoughts and prayers do for them? Twenty six people were dead before they could drop to their knees. It is way past time for something to be done and for reason to take charge.

Don’t let it be too late for another community. Be brave enough to make the necessary changes.

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On the NaNo side, I am currently at 8,429 words, and I am three chapters in. My main characters have been involved in a fight in the school cafeteria and made their first foray into another world. I’ve managed to do a decent amount every day, though not as much as I would like. Things are bound to get tougher as the month goes on. They always do, and this year more so with all of the gigs I have with the Guard. I will keep you posted.